Box office calculations indicate Bollywood made a decent start with the young kids on the block such as Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. But the onus is on superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan to turn an average year into a blockbuster in the last quarter, say trade analysts.

With close to 120 releases till mid- August, the box office has garnered over Rs.1,400 crore ($230 million) so far. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh extols the young brigade’s achievements, saying they have done a “tremendous job” this year.

“They have put their best foot forward – be it Tiger Shroff in ‘Heropanti’, Varun Dhawan in ‘Main Tera Hero’, ‘Alia Bhatt’ in ‘Highway’ or Arjun Kapoor in ‘2 States’.

“This was something unexpected and they have proved their talent with their films,” Adarsh told IANS.

Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, also admitted the newcomers’ good performances have “come as a surprise to all of us”.

“Be it ‘Heropanti’, ‘2 States’, ‘Highway’ or ‘City Lights’ – these films have not just recovered their money but also made a huge profit,” he said.